Siegfried "The Elder" ("Le Vieux"), also called "The Dane", was the first Comte de Guines (c.940 - around 965)

Biography:

The County of Guines originally belonged to the Abbey of St-Sithiu (later St-Bertin) in St-Omer. In 877, Charles the Bald confirmed it as a possession of the Abbey.

Later these lands fell to the County of Flanders.

There are two hypotheses regarding how Siegried the Dane took possession of the County.

Counter-Offensive against Flanders

In 965, William I, Comte de Ponthieu, siezed Boulogne, Guiness, and St-Pol from Arnulf II, Comte de Flandres.

Arnulf II called in the Danes, who came to his rescue - led by Knut Gormsson, brother of King Harald I of Denmark, and Siegfried, his cousin. The expedition was a success, and Arnulf II gave the fief of Guiness to Siegfried, and married off his daughter (sister?) Elstrude de Gand, to him.

The legend says that Siegfried would have foregone the marriage had he not already impregnated Elstrude with their son Ardolf (or Adolphe Ardolph). Siegfried would have been hanged by Arnulf II if he refused.

Viking Invasion

According to other historians, the Dane Siegfried and the Vikings came to take Guiness in 928. Arnulf I, Comte de Flandres, offered his daughter Elstrude de Gand in marriage to the Norman pirate, to stop the siege of his vassel Comte de Guines.

Marriage and Children:

He married in 964 Elstrude de Gand (born in 932), and they had Ardolf as a son, and Siegfried's successor.

Elstrude married Cte Sifrid (Siegfried) "le Danois" (the Dane) DE GUОNES, son of Godefroy DE DANOIS and Prncess Gisela DE LORRAINE. (Cte Sifrid (Siegfried) "le Danois" (the Dane) DE GUОNES was born in 935 in Guisnes, Flanders, Belgium and died in 970 in Guisnes, Flanders, Belgium.)

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Elstrude married Count Of Guisnes Sigfried LE BLOUNT, son of Count Of Flanders Arnulf Le Blount DE FLANDERS and Alice DE VERMANDOIS. (Count Of Guisnes Sigfried LE BLOUNT was born in 925 and died in 965.) -------------------- 1 boy, Ardolph, and 1 girl Heloise De Guisnes -------------------- http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~greenefamily/lape/pafg460.htm#52402 -------------------- The County of Guines originally belonged to the Abbey of St-Sithiu (later St-Bertin) in St-Omer. In 877, Charles the Bald confirmed it as a possession of the Abbey. Later these lands fell to the County of Flanders. There are two hypotheses regarding how Siegried the Dane took possession of the County. Counter-Offensive against Flanders: In 965, William I, Comte de Ponthieu, siezed Boulogne, Guiness, and St-Pol from Arnulf II, Comte de Flandres. Arnulf II called in the Danes, who came to his rescue led by Knut Gormsson, brother of King Harald I of Denmark, and Siegfried, his cousin. The expedition was a success, and Arnulf II gave the fief of Guiness to Siegfried, and married off his daughter (sister?) Elstrude de Gand, to him. The legend says that Siegfried would have foregone the marriage had he not already impregnated Elstrude with their son Ardolf (or Adolphe Ardolph). Siegfried would have been hanged by Arnulf II if he refused. Viking Invasion: According to other historians, the Dane Siegfried and the Vikings came to take Guiness in 928. Arnulf I, Comte de Flandres, offered his daughter Elstrude de Gand in marriage to the Norman pirate, to stop the siege of his vassel Comte de Guines. Marriage and Children: He married in 964 Elstrude de Gand (born in 932), and they had Ardolf as a son, and Siegfried's successor.